We might consider our role as parents not to be to reduce the pain our children must live through, but to help them learn how to suffer less
- Eli Lebowitz
What is SPACE?
SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) is a well-established, evidence-based program designed to help parents support children with anxiety.
Developed by Eli Lebowitz at Yale Child Study Center, SPACE focuses on helping parents change their responses to the child’s anxiety, rather than on changing the child. It is built on the idea that parental behaviors, particularly accommodations (letting a child to avoid feared situations), can unintentionally reinforce anxiety in children. When successful, children feel less anxious and function better following treatment.
Here’s what makes SPACE distinctive:
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Parent-only treatment: The child doesn’t need to attend sessions
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Focuses on reducing accommodations (e.g., excessive reassurance, avoidance support)
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Teaches parents to communicate confidence and support, rather than “fixing” the anxiety
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Backed by research showing it can be as effective as individual therapy for kids
What happens in SPACE treatment?
Parents who participate in SPACE will learn skills and tools to help their child overcome anxiety, OCD or related problems. The treatment focuses on changes that parents can make to their own behavior; they do not need to make their child change. The two main changes that parents learn to make in SPACE treatment are to respond more supportively to their anxious child and to reduce the accommodations they have been making for the child's symptoms.
It’s often used for:
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Separation anxiety
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Social anxiety
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Generalized anxiety
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School refusal
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Fears and phobias
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Panic disorders
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OCD
Who Should Consider SPACE?
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Parents of Anxious Children
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Families Struggling with Anxiety Disorders
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Parents Seeking to Reduce Accommodation
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Caregivers Wanting to Provide Better Support
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Parents Interested in a Collaborative Approach
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Families Looking for Practical Solutions
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Parents Ready for Change
The Key Role of Parents in Managing Childhood Anxiety
Addressing childhood anxiety is critical for a child’s overall well-being and development. When left untreated, anxiety can affect academic performance, social interactions, and self-esteem.
Parents play an important role in managing childhood anxiety as their responses and behavior affect how children handle stress. The SPACE program is designed to help parents address anxiety early and support their children in developing healthy coping mechanisms and leading a happier life.
If you’re looking for guidance, Faro Counselling is here to help. We provide the tools and support to help you navigate this journey. Schedule a consultation to learn how we can help.
Our Process in a Nutshell
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Book a consultation - a free 15 minute consultation helps you know if we are the right fit for you. Since healing occurs in relationships this time helps you get a sense of who we are. We also use this time to get a sense for where your relationship is and some salient issues.
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Complete an Intake form - our intake form provides us with more details about your relationship that can help us understand you better.
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Getting to know each other - the first few sessions primarily help us get to know you and your child, ask questions about your family, your child and your child's anxiety. We may also get you to complete some assessments to shed some insight into your word.
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Setting goals and a plan to get there - we will introduce you to the SPACE program and how it can help your child's anxiety. Our goal will be to focus on parent behavior that affects the child's anxiety.
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Doing the work - sessions after the feedback session provide the bulk of the work in therapy, this could include exploring current issues as they unfold, key issues from the past, coming up with plans and gauging the effectiveness of our actions and correcting course if our goals shift along the way.
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Ending well - SPACE is a short program, anywhere between 12-15 sessions. The program is done in a thoughtful and calculated way, ensuring parents are ready to support their child moving forward.